The truth is, we have no concept of what Heaven is really going to be like. The Bible does give us some idea here and there and we have a general knowledge of what it is like, but the details have been left out, causing us to look forward to it as we draw closer to the coming of Jesus, or the end of our physical life on this planet.
Therefore, when we begin thinking and speaking of what we expect to see when we get to Heaven it is likely we will be surprised to find that our ideas of what it is like, and, what it is really like may differ considerably. But, I look forward to it and dream of it. I suppose many others do also. It is for this reason that I share some of my dreams and thoughts about what it may be like. You may disagree with these thoughts and that is alright with me. I only put forth my thoughts in order to share my excitement with others as well as to help stimulate others to think, on their own, of what it may be like when we finally see Jesus.
Here is one small piece of the puzzle that I present in order for you to think over and possibly anticipate.
Do you remember when you were very young and you received gifts for Christmas and for your birthday? Do you recall that first tricycle, or wagon? I remember my wagon. It was sitting beneath the Christmas tree, all shiny and red. It was a Radio Flyer. It had a black tongue and white wheels with small chrome hub caps and black tires. I was just big enough to place my right knee into it, pull the tongue back over the front - toward me, and push with my left leg on the ground.
I pretended it was my car and I would push myself around. Christmas morning I drove everywhere I could in the house. When the weather became warm I drove my little vehicle around and around outside. We had a dirt driveway which circled the house and headed out to a country road.
That wagon was my favorite means of transportation. When my cousins came over we would push each other around that driveway, pretending we were really driving a car. But, as time went by and I grew older, that wagon lost its shine. Because I left it sitting outside in the rain, it began to rust and come apart where the bolts were attached.
There was a vast difference between the amount of attention paid to it at that point compared to how much attention I gave it on Christmas day when I first received it. In fact, it ended up setting by itself for weeks at a time, in the rain - especially after I received my first bicycle.
I remember the Christmas my bicycle arrived. Our family had a tradition that was enforced by my parents: No one could go into the living room and see what Santa had brought until we had all gotten up, were dressed, and finished a light breakfast. The house in which we lived had an opening from the kitchen, into the living room, which my parents attempted to close off by hanging a sheet over the doorway on Christmas morning. When everyone was ready we would make our way, from the kitchen, into the living room, in single-file. The oldest would go first and the youngest last.
That particular year my younger sister was almost four years old. Somehow, while we were all in the kitchen anxiously trying to eat our breakfast, she could no longer hold herself and took off, running under the sheet, into the living room, in full view of the Christmas tree with all of the gifts surrounding it. My aunt and grandparents lived with us at the time and they all jumped up from the table and chased after my sister. But, before they could catch her she quickly returned to report to me and my older sister what she had seen. I only remember her saying, "Kent, you got a bike!"
Sure enough, when we finally made our way into the living room and settled around the Christmas tree, there was a red, 24-inch Schwinn bicycle, sitting by the tree, leaning on its shiny kick-stand.
I had never ridden a bicycle and it was a bit too large for my short body but my dad took me outside and taught me how to ride that very day. Because we lived out in the country and there was a driveway that circled our house I could ride and ride for hours. I was so short that when it came time to stop I would simply put on the brakes, let the bike come to a stop, and fall over. It was actually easier to keep riding for long periods of time than to stop and crash. I kept that bike for many years.
One thing I remember is this: Once I had received my new bicycle I had no desire to play in the old wagon again. And, when I first received the bicycle I rode it for hours, but, after several weeks and months had passed I no longer rode the bicycle unless I wanted to go somewhere. I had grown tired of admiring that bicycle in the same way that I had grown tired of admiring my wagon.
I received my bicycle when I was six-years old. When I was ten or eleven I asked my parents if I could have an English bike for Christmas. That's what we called the three-speed bikes that were becoming popular about that time. They had three speeds and were designed to be much lighter than the old standard Schwinn bicycles. My parents were kind enough to oblige my wishes when Christmas Day came that year. As all of us walked into the living room that year, there was my English bike, all shiny and black. I couldn't wait to take it outside and begin riding it. But my parents made me wait until all of us had opened all of our gifts.
When I was finally able to ride that bike for the first time I couldn't believe how much better it worked than my old Schwinn. I could really roll. And, when I came to a hill I would simply shift into a lower gear and peddle along. I no longer needed to get off and push the bicycle up the hill. I rode that bicycle for hours that day, and, when the day was over I brought it back into the house with me.
I did a lot of bicycle riding during that Christmas vacation - enjoying my new Christmas gift. But, as time passed I no longer brought the bike indoors with me, but, instead left it sitting outside. I also rode it less and less as time passed. Finally, it also simply became a tool for traveling from one place to another. I kept that bicycle for many years.
That bicycle remained my number one means of transportation until I turned sixteen. Can you guess what I became excited over about that time in my life? If your guess is "Driving a car" you are correct. And, once I received my driver's license I wanted to drive the car twenty-four hours a day.
By now you may be asking yourself, "What do wagons, bicycles and cars have to do with Heaven?" I don't blame you if you are becoming a bit impatient by now, so here is the point of the story: We live on this temporal earth in a temporal body. When we go to Heaven we leave the temporal behind and inherit an eternal body. There is a vast difference between something that is temporal and something that is eternal. When we finally receive our eternal bodies we will never again become bored, or tired of admiring anything. We will never again become tired of a possession such as a wagon or a bicycle. If there were Christmas Days in Heaven and we received a wagon as a gift on that first Christmas we were there, we would remain just as excited about that wagon after we had played with it for ten thousand years as we were the first moment we saw it sitting beneath the tree.
We will never become bored in Heaven. We will never grow tired of admiring our gifts. We will never, ever, ever lose that thrill we first feel that very moment when we arrive in Heaven. The excitement and sparkle in our eyes will still remain after millions of years.
I must admit, I used to think, "Why would we want to sit at Jesus' feet and worship him for thousands of years?" Now I understand it better.
At the first opportunity to begin praising Him and thanking Him for all he has done for me I will be so thrilled and excited that I can't conceive, now, how I will be able to contain the tears of joy. And, consider this: Those tears will begin to flood the area around His throne as time goes by and we all remain at His feet, just as excited after thousands of years, as we were at that first moment.
Now I understand why I will always be filled with joy and excitement throughout eternity. I will be eternal. And it is all because of what my Savior did because He loved me so much and gave Himself for me. God is so good.